excrescence
/iks'kresns/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- An abnormal or disfiguring outgrowth on the body or a plant: In medicine and biology, an "excrescence" refers to an unnatural, often unsightly, growth or enlargement on an organism, such as a wart, tumor, or cyst.
- A protruding part; a noticeable bulge or projection: More generally, it can describe any part that sticks out prominently from a surface, often with a negative connotation of being an ugly or superfluous addition.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The surgeon removed the excrescence from the patient's skin.
- The old tree was covered in knotted excrescences.
- The architect criticized the new tower as a mere excrescence on the city's skyline.
Advanced Usage
- Used figuratively to describe something perceived as an ugly, unnecessary, or parasitic addition:
- The garish neon sign was seen as an excrescence on the historic building's facade.
- He viewed the new regulations as bureaucratic excrescences that hindered progress.
Variants and Related Words
- Excrescent (adj): Pertaining to, forming, or of the nature of an excrescence; superfluous.
- The excrescent tissue required further examination.
- The editor cut the excrescent paragraphs from the manuscript.
Synonyms
- Outgrowth
- Protuberance
- Bulge
- Prominence
- Growth (specifically for abnormal biological growths)
- Appendage (when implying an unnecessary addition)
Related Phrases and Idioms
- "An excrescence on the body politic": A literary or rhetorical phrase describing a corrupt or harmful element within a society or system.
- The scandal was an excrescence on the body politic that needed to be excised.
Noun
- (pathology) an abnormal outgrowth or enlargement of some part of the body
- something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings
- the gun in his pocket made an obvious bulge
- the hump of a camel
- he stood on the rocky prominence
- the occipital protuberance was well developed
- the bony excrescence between its horns